THE INTERN: A REMINDER TO KEEP YOUR SPARKLE

The movie was all about a 70-year-old widower named Ben Whittaker, who has
grown tired of retirement and wanted to keep moving at his age. As he craved for the
connection, challenge, and the feeling of wanting to be needed again, he seized the
opportunity as a senior intern to About The Fit, a start-up online fashion shop. He was
assigned to work for Jules Ostin, the Founder of ATF, juggling being a mother, wife, and
boss. As he got to know more about Jules, he also faced the culture shock of a nearly
paperless world. Still, then eventually, he inspired his co-workers to look up from the
computers and really engage. He even gave Jules, who was known to be hard to get
along with, ways to respect and appreciate him as he always showed up, listened, and
brought her a level of calm. Ben may have wanted to be needed, but it turns out Jules
needed him more. The conflict here was that investors had been agitating for her to hire
a more experienced CEO, which she strongly opposed because she believed in her
skills and competency. However, as she discovered that his husband was cheating on
her, which Ben knew too, she felt that she should sacrifice her job to focus on her
marriage. Ben disagrees with her view. When Jule was about to hand over the reins to
the new CEO, her husband met her and asked for her forgiveness. He told what Ben
advised her: to not give up all that she has worked for and save something doomed to
failure.
I liked how the film portrayed less biased stereotypes of women. This is shown in
scenes such as when Ben and Matt admired Jules for being a working mom and Jules
being proud as how “girls” went to “women”. Jules was a challenging and efficient team
leader. She really knew what she was doing as her start-up flourished in just a few
months. The moment she cried after knowing she would be replaced by another CEO
and soon learned her husband was cheating on her, she lost her sparkle. I could not
agree more with the message the movie wished to send—to never let anyone take the
dream you built from scratch. We must be open to criticism, but we should also keep
our sparkle when life is trying to dull it out. We should not let those potential judgments
or unfair actions blow it out; instead, make it more reason to spark brighter.
I also learned that the cycle of life does not stop at age 70. The idea of getting
old scares me because I am afraid of being left out by the things around me—my family,
friends, and even myself. As I watched how Ben’s personality was portrayed in the
movie, I realized there are many things the world can offer for as long as we keep our
passion and drive within. Like Ben, who might have a hard time adapting the tech stuff
in his new workplace but still manage to stand out at the end, we should also be always
eager to learn and try every opportunity to remind us to sparkle, even when we don not
feel like it.
I liked the context of the movie, where a 70-year-old man met a young founder. It
was like they mirrored each other’s past and future selves. Ben, who was nothing to do
in life but was still up for the corporate challenge, helped someone who had a lot to do
in her life at a young age. This context was extensively portrayed at the scene where
they were on a trip and had a deep conversation. It was pretty hilarious to Jules to talk
about how she did not want to be buried alone or live alone after everything she did.
Yet, it was sad for Ben as he knew the feeling of it—having to lose his wife and not rely
on his son’s family more than he should.
The least I liked about the movie was the ending where Jules forgave his
husband. I find it difficult to give a second chance to someone who cheats because his
ego was damaged by someone’s success. Also, for me, chances tolerate cheaters. It
provides them a wrong signal that it is their prerogative to cheat even if they are already
committed to marriage. I believe that Jules was better off without her partner, who
could not handle her as she got on top of her career.
As I finished the film, I thought of being Jules and Ben in real life when I entered
the corporate and the after-corporate world. They both had the most of their lives. I liked
to be that woman who already figured out what she wanted to do and be successful at it
at a young age. I also wanted to be that 70-year-old who never gets tired of learning
and adapting regardless of age.
When it comes to the most potent part of the movie, I believed it was when Ben
drove Paige, Jule’s daughter, to a birthday party and met other moms. It was powerful
how he defended Jules to adults who had an issue about her being tough as a working
mom. He then said they should be proud of a woman like her working hard and
conquering the tech world. This scenario swayed me because, in the 21 st century,
women are really taking up space in leadership and rising to the top levels of most
companies. No woman should feel unheard, excluded, and undervalued in the
workplace.
Overall, the film was compelling as it depicted deeper working relationships and
friendships while exhibiting assumptions about men and women from conventional to
fewer biased portrayals of gender stereotypes. It demonstrated a modern woman who is
as capable, or even better as a man, to lead a company and can be strong, liberating to
decide her own choices in life. The movie affirmed more positivity of supporting gender
equality between men and women in any domain.

REFERENCES:
Hernandez, M. (2019). Do Not Let Anyone Break You From Living Your Dreams.
Retrieved from https://thoughtcatalog.com/mitzi-j-hernandez/2019/02/dont-let-
anyone-stop-you-from-living-your-dreams/
Philippose, S. (2021, June 2). Management lessons from the film “The Intern”.
Retrieved from https://athena.edu/The-Intern
Pritikin, A. (2015). The Intern” addresses serious issues with serious lack of depth.
Retrieved from https://redwoodbark.org/20461/reviews/the-intern-adressess-
serious-issues-with-serious-lack-of-depth/
Spencer, A. (2020, March 20). Women in the Workplace: Ways to empower female
employees. Retrieved from https://www.bizlibrary.com/blog/organizational-
culture/empowering-women-in-the-workplace/
Trisnawati, Ririn & Adiarti, Dian & Fitria, Mia & Soedirman, Jenderal & Author,
Corresponding. (2021). Gender stereotypes in Nancy Meyers' "The Intern"
(2015): A study of film audience response. EduLite Journal of English Education
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